A new law went into effect today in Honolulu. It bans something many of us are guilty of - texting while walking or looking at any screen really, specifically while crossing the street.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

It's meant to keep pedestrians' eyes up and on the road while navigating crosswalks and city traffic.

CHANG: It's thought to be the first law of its kind in any major city, and it's thanks to people in the very age group that gets a bad rap for always staring down at their screens - teenagers.

SIEGEL: Teenagers in the Youth for Safety club at Waipahu High School outside of Honolulu. Kel Hirohata is their adviser.

KEL HIROHATA: The club is just always kind of looking out. How can, you know, we impact our community?

SIEGEL: Hirohata says his students spent a week or two just watching their peers cross the streets outside the school as they left at the end of the day.

HIROHATA: We noticed that a lot of students were just looking at their cell phone crossing the street just kind of, like, following along the other students. You know, they weren't looking at all.

CHANG: It seemed obviously dangerous, so they got a local councilmember involved, and eventually they helped write a bill. They testified at city council meetings. And ultimately their bill was signed into law.

SIEGEL: Fines start at $15 and go as high as $99 for a third-time offense in the same year. But Hirohata says he hopes the law just makes looking up second nature the way laws of the 1980s influenced seatbelt use.

HIROHATA: You know, fast forward 25 years, 30 years later, and basically all of my students - when I ask, hey, what do you guys do when you get into the car; you know, what's one of the first things they do - is put on our seatbelt.

CHANG: Hirohata happens to also teach drivers ed, and vigilant walking is something he's been preaching long before this legislation.

HIROHATA: As you cross the street, you need to make eye contact with the driver, you know - that, hey, I'm crossing the street. I mean, I think this law helps with that - that, hey, get your eyes up, and look around. Be aware of your surroundings.

SIEGEL: And one other important note - pedestrians of any age can be fined. So parents, if you are traveling to Honolulu, keep your little one's eyes off the tablets and up on the road.